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The Season 2 premiere of Smash is just a few hours away, so to help refresh your memory after all of those Bombshell-free months, we’ve compiled a drama-filled catch-up guide. We also used our powers of penmanship to create a list of the top five things you need to know about tonight’s two hour spectacular, “On Broadway” and “The Fallout.” Plus, we chatted with the ridiculously talented Smash newcomers and gathered everything you need to know about your three soon-too-be favorite characters. Let the show begin!
Show: Smash
Where We Left Off: Season 1 of Smash was filled to the brim with creative performances, A-list guest stars, and cringe-worthy dialogue — making it everyone’s favorite show to critique yet crave. Creative duo Julia and Tom were inspired to create a brand-new Broadway musical centered on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Chorus line-veteran Ivy Lynn was an obvious choice for the sexy yet curvy blonde lead, however, there was something about small town girl Karen Cartwright that captured director Derek Wills’ attention. Pretty impressive, considering the fact that Ivy was sleeping with Derek. For months, the two girls battled it out back and forth for the coveted role (and at some point a random movie star played by Uma Thurman held the role until they discovered that she couldn’t sing and was nearly poisoned to death with a peanut-filled smoothie). But through all the craziness, Karen nabbed the lead in the end and gave a tear-jerking performance, despite the trauma of being “in tech” for what seemed like years and realizing that Ivy had slept with her fiancé. Oh and there was also Ellis, a smarmy assistant turned associate producer turned killer smoothie maker that everyone absolutely hated until he was finally fired in the finale.
RELATED: ‘Smash’ Scoop: New Showrunner Talks Season 2 Changes
Biggest Jaw-Dropper of Season 1: Music-filled shows are no longer anything new, however, the most jaw-dropping attribute of Smash is how consistently amazing all of the original songs are. Out of season one’s 15 episodes, Smash featured 30 catchy original songs, and many of the numbers were accompanied by over-the-top yet mesmerizing performances. How many times did you watch “The National Pastime” — the infectiousy fun baseball performance — on YouTube? Six… hundred times? Us too!
Biggest Letdown of Season 1: The entire Julia storyline. From the completely random unsuccessful adoption, to the strained infidelity-ridden marriage, to the absolutely pathetic acting from her pot-smoking, sandwich-loving son Leo, Smash wasted valuable performance time trying to make us care about this family. We never did.
Most Improved Character: This category is such a toss-up, but we’re going to give the coveted award to Derek Wills. At the beginning of the season, Derek was a womanizing douchebag who dangled his directorial power like a cat toy to young and ambitious women. It didn’t help that he was sleeping with Ivy, and that she oh-so conveniently snagged the role of Marilyn. But as the episodes progressed, so did Derek’s sense of compassion and likability. He became quippy, enthusiastic and — dare we say it — absolutely charming.
RELATED: Leanne's Spoiler List: Season 2 Secrets from 'Smash,' 'Vampire Diaries' Boss Talks Delena
Least Improved Character: Congratulations Miss Eileen Rand! Despite the fact that somehow you nabbed a hunky young bartender boyfriend, your personality was a stagnant mess of we don’t really care. However, we do admire the way you can throw a drink in a man’s face with dignity and class.
What We Ultimately Want To See: After the back and forth will-they-won’t-they of Season 1, we want to see Bombshell finally make it to Broadway. Also, we need Karen to have a bit more of an edge, and to not be swept away by another loser llike Dev. We want to see Ivy stand on her own two feet and become the strong and fierce lead performer that we all know she can be. Karen and Ivy need to have at least three more duets together, and we want at least one throwback line to Will and Grace when Sean Hayes guest stars. Just for fun, we’d like to see Neil Patrick Harris have a brief but memorable appearance. And even though we’re already completely and totally enamored by Karen’s new love interest Jimmy, we’d like to see what a full-fledged Karen/Derek relationship would look like.
What Would Make Us Turn Our Backs: If Ellis sabotages Bombshell one more time we’re going to scream and shove peanuts down his throat. Get a hobby, dude.
RELATED: Leanne's Spoiler List: 'Smash' Will Shake Things Up, 'Vampire Diaries' Gets Intense
5 Reasons You Should Keep Watching: The Season 2 premiere is jam-packed with numerous reasons as to why you need to keep watching this musically inclined drama, but we’ll go ahead and limit it down to five.
1. Meet Your Newest Crush: Smash hasn’t had a full-fledged bad boy just yet, so get excited ladies — Jimmy is that gorgeous troublemaker that your mother warned you about. We caught up with star Jeremy Jordan to learn a bit more about this unbelievably talented composer. “He’s got a pretty shady past that led him to build these barriers around himself and not trust anyone,” he says. But of course, how could you not trust Karen’s sweet small town face? These two opposites definitely begin to attract within the very first episode, and by the fourth things are very heated. Jordan explains, “There’s that energy and that unspoken connection — that undeniable thing between them that keeps drawing them together, even though they’re so bad for each other.”
2. Tootles Boys: The three most obnoxious fellas to suck up screen time in season one — Dev, Leo and Ellis — are MIA from our line of sight for at least the first four episodes. Sure they may be briefly mentioned, but their whining and overall suckiness won’t take up Smash’s precious screen time. Phew!
3. Newbie Roomie: Now that Karen is officially a single lady, she needs a new place to live and a fresh start. Enter stage left, Ana: a spunky, outgoing and insightfully opinionated Broadway hopeful and friend of Karen’s. The background info on these two ladies was cut from the first episode, but Krysta Rodriguez gave us the inside scoop, “She is a friend from Karen’s life in New York," she says. "Ana was on tour with West Side Story, but she knew [Karen] before from the restaurant they worked in. Now that Ana’s back, she has a room to move into.” Ana will quickly get involved with the new musical that Smash is featuring, “Hit List” — an edgy and contemporary tale that is completely different than “Bombshell.” Fans can except to see Ana definitely try to make Karen a more outgoing an assertive person, and for that we thank her.
RELATED: TV Tidbits: NBC Debuts a 'Smash'-ing New Poster, 'Arrow' Nabs a 'True Blood' Star
4. Will &amp; Grace 2.0: It’s no secret that Julia’s marriage is on the rocks, and Brian d’Arcy James (who plays her husband) is no longer a series regular. So, spoiler alert: By the end of the first episode, Julia will be turning to her bestie/business partner Tom for some comfort, but instead she’ll wind up with a new roommate! “You know what why don’t you just stay here," Tom says. "It’ll be like old times, or a sitcom.” It’s Will &amp; Grace the sequel, and although nothing can top the amazingness of NBC’s former blockbuster comedy, fans can look forward to seeing Debra Messing act a lot her former erratic character. Plus, Sean Hayes — aka Just Jack! — is guest staring this season. Now if we can somehow get Megan Mullally to bring back Karen as an investor then we can all die happy.
5. Hot New Musical: If you were getting sick of the cast constantly singing about Marilyn Monroe, then you’re in luck! “Hit List” is the edgy new musical that Jimmy is composing and Kyle is writing. Who is Kyle, you ask? We talked with Smash newbie Andy Mientus to fill you in on this endearing new character. “Kyle is a completely open book, and a total purely beating heart. It’s all on his sleeve — if he’s star-struck he can’t help but express it, and he over-speaks and catches himself. He loves musical theater so intensely more than anything else." Fans will instantly see that these two men are more than just business partners. Mientus explains, “Kyle has been Jimmy’s support for a lot of years, They’re childhood friends, and they really are almost like brothers. Kyle is really responsible for Jimmy being on a good path — he’s helped him come out of some trouble.”
Don’t miss the Smash Season 2 Premiere tonight at 9 PM on NBC!
Will you tune into Smash tonight? Which new character are you excited to meet? Sing your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeanneAguilera
[Photo Credit: NBC]
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Judd Apatow's This Is 40 is being dubbed as "semi-sequel," a clever buzzword that, when defined in the official Hollywood.com Reboot Glossery, basically boils down to "spin-off." Which is not a bad thing: as Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann have escaped the supporting character confines of Knocked Up to star in their own comedy vehicle, so have many other characters and actors since the beginning of film history.
In anticipation of Hollywood's latest spin-off, we take a look back at where the trend came from and where it's going from here….
The Early Days of Spin-offs
In the turn of the 20th Century, movies were even more episodic than they are today, with serials dominating the theaters. Genres of every kind had films slowly released over time, but rarely did they "spin-off" in the traditional sense. Eventually, silent stars like Fatty Arbuckle and Harold Lloyd would help spin-off newcomers into their own movies. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, not specific characters they played, became franchise lynchpins. Later, Universal's horror movies would become a steady stream of almost-kinda-sorta spin-offs, as was the case with 1936's Dracula's Daughter, which continues the events of the Bela Lugosi 1931 Dracula from the perspective of his next of kin. Spin-off or sequel? In the heyday of cinema, it was murkier territory.
Charters and Caldicott
Was Hitchcock the first to film a true spin-off? Actors Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne first appeared as their alter egos Charters and Caldicott in the director's 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes, before being revived for his 1940 film A Night Train to Munich. The duo aren't the main characters of either movie — Margaret Lockwood actually stars in both, but as different characters, adding to the confusion. Obviously, people saw the continued use of the characters as reason to bring them back for more adventures: 1941's Crook's Tour put Charters and Caldicott at center stage, appearing in 1943's Millions Like Us, and the two were nearly included in The Third Man before being combined into a new character.
The Comic Book Movies
TV spin-offs were commonplace throughout the 20th Century, but 1984's Supergirl marks the beginning of movie spin-offs' fruitful life. The movie follows Kara Zor-El, a Kryptonian like Superman who also escaped the planet's blast. She heads to Earth — complete with Superman insignia-branded threads — and saves the day from an evil witch. Marc McClure, who played Jimmy Olsen in the 1979 Superman, returns for the movie, the only actor thread linking the two.
Superhero movies are prime for spin-offs, and Hollywood is certainly aware of the potential. Elektra spun off of Daredevil, Halle Berry sent the drowning Batman franchise plummeting even further with Catwoman, and Hugh Jackman has continued to own the silver screen version of Marvel's Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the upcoming The Wolverine. With characters out the wazoo and room for cameos to act as testing grounds for new franchises, spin-offs may end up being more prevalent than ever.
Sequel Demands
With intricate mythologies and ever-growing ensembles, comic book movies are easy to spin off. Everything else? A wee bit harder.
But studios have tried: five years after winning a Best Supporting Oscar for his work on The Fugitive, Warner Bros. brought Tommy Lee Jones back for another round of law enforcing in U.S. Marshals. No Dr. Richard Kimble to be found — Jones was now the star, chasing Wesley Snipes as guilty-until-proven-innocent man on the run. In more reasonable territory, producers found luck in back story (and The Rock's popularity) by prequelizing The Mummy Returns with the Dwayne Johnson-led Scorpion King. Robert Rodriguez took his faux-trailer for 2008's Machete from the movie Grindhouse and spun it off into a full length feature in 2011. With the added time afforded by the feature-length format, the world was granted a Lindsey Lohan nude scene (for what that's worth).
The Comedies
As This Is 40 proves, there's more flexibility in spinning off comedy than in drama. Not every movie would make sense to have a sequel. But as long as there's one character worth paying attention to, Hollywood has worked their alchemy to keep the "franchise" going. After outshining her male costars in Barbershop 2, Queen Latifah had her own salon story: Beauty Shop. Can't get Jim Carrey to come back for a sequel to the ubersuccessful Bruce Almighty? Not an issue, Steve Carrell can try his hand at another Biblical story with Evan Almighty. And This Is 40 isn't the first time Apatow's noticed the spin-off potential of his characters — in Get Him to the Greek, Russell Brand's breakout character Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall is given the star treatment.
The Future of Spin-Offs
The future is bright for spin-offs. Comic book movies continue to gain steam, while long-gestating projects never seem to disappear (see: Tom Cruise's Lev Grossman Tropic Thunder spin-off never failing to revive itself just when we though it was dead). Then there's the case of Star Wars, now in the hands of Disney, who plan to release two to three adventures in a galaxy far, far away per year starting in 2015. They've already hired writers, and the rumors are that the plan is all about spin-offs.
With all the off-shoots in the works, Hollywood is iterating at fractal-like speed, continuing a trend that's been evolving for 100 years.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Universal Pictures; 20th Century Fox]
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An Almost Reunion: Former Married … With Children star David Faustino is set to reunite with his former TV father on an upcoming episode of Modern Family. When Claire (Julie Bowen) heads to a school reunion, she reconnects with old classmate-turned-successful businessman Drew — a.k.a. Faustino. Unfortunately, Faustino will not share any scenes with former TV dad Ed O’Neil. The episode is set to air sometime in 2013. [The Hollywood Reporter]
From Battlestar to Big Bad: James Callis, more commonly know as Gaius Baltar on the cult classic Battlestar Galactica, is headed to The CW. Callis will join the new superhero hit Arrow in an upcoming guest spot set to air in 2013. According to TV Guide, Callis will play The Dodger, “An elusive international jewel thief who imposes his plans on the innocent, forcing them to carry out his crimes under duress.” Fans of the DC Comics will remember The Dogder as an enemy-turned-ally, but there is no word yet if the CW drama will follow the same character storyline. [TV Guide]
Not Your Grandma’s Bridge Nights: Remember those amazing game nights that Will &amp; Grace used to have? Well Sean Hayes is doing his best to bring ‘em back! NBC has just ordered eight episodes of Hollywood Game Night, a new hour-long game show. Executive produced by Hayes, the series is said to be based on the actor’s real-life game nights featuring A-listers hanging out in a cocktail party atmosphere. In each episode, two contestants will be invited to join a celebrity-filled crowd and at the end of the night one winner will walk away with a cash prize and a slew of sure-to-be hilarious stories. Sign us up! [Deadline]
Supersize Me, Westeros: Get excited HBO fans! The third season of the beloved series Game of Thrones is getting a super-sized. Since the pay-cable network does not have to worry about those pesky things we call commercials, each episode of the fantasy drama is allowed a flexible 50-60 minute time slot. While many episodes last season were around 52 minutes, showrunner David Benioff revealed to EW.com that this season will feature many 56- and 57-minute episodes. Fans know that a lot can change in a matter of minutes on Game of Thrones, so consider this an early Christmas present. [EW.com]
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The yellow one at the top of the White House Christmas tree was not the only star in the vicinity at this year's annual White House Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. The first family was joined by some of Hollywood's finest for the event.
Modern Family's Rico Rodriguez joined the First Lady Michelle Obama for a reading of the Christmas classic poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas," more popularly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Rodriguez even joked that he would be joining the Obamas on their holiday vacation in Hawaii. Now, that's one modern family outing we'd like to see!
How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris hosted the event, welcoming Barack, Michelle, and their two daughters Sasha and Malia to the stage. Is it just us, or does it look like Harris is giving the POTUS a once-over? We can't blame him — that man is one fine prez.
Barack led the countdown, and then his daughters pressed the button to light up the big tree as the 17,000 people in attendance oohed and ahhed. The event also featured festive musical performances from Jason Mraz, Phillip Phillips, James Taylor, and Babyface.
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The Charlie's Angels beauty reached the milestone in August (12) and on a night out to mark the occasion, she shared dinner with the Top Gun actor and fellow Hollywood stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.
As the clock struck midnight, the four screen stars posed together for photographs as a keepsake - but their fun moment unwittingly sparked frenzied speculation of a new romance.
A representative for Cruise spoke out in September (12) in a bid to silence the rumour, and now Diaz has joined her pal in denying they are in a relationship.
She tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "I happened to bump into Penelope Cruz, Javier, Tom and his son in a hotel and joined them for dinner. At midnight I said, 'I'm 40' so we took pictures and then said 'Goodnight, see you later, blah, blah, blah' and I haven't seen him since. But the next thing I know, apparently I am dating him and it's full on and he is coming after me."
Diaz has been single since splitting from baseball star Alex Rodriguez last year (11), and Cruise's divorce from Katie Holmes was finalised in August (12).

Film acting is a bizarre beast. On the one hand, it is a demanding profession that takes years to master. However, there is something to be said for intangible natural talent, the kind of talent that lies dormant within persons in entirely separate fields until they are given the opportunity to transition. Tyler Perry has always been an actor, so his, shall we say, “Cross”over this weekend doesn’t seem an enormous stretch. But Perry is far better known as a director and he’s never before shouldered a leading role, an action hero no less, of the magnitude of Alex Cross. This got us thinking about some of the other, even more unconventional places from which film stars have transitioned:
From Rapper to Actor: Mos Def
Music is an essential component to any film; the soundtrack and score often providing the pulse of the movie. With this inextricable link between the two mediums, it’s not surprising that so many musicians have made the transition to acting. What is interesting to note is the variance of genres of music from which these actors hail. Yasiin Bey, better known to the world as Mos Def, is one of the most influential voices in hip-hop, and yet his film catalogue is not without its fair share of success as well. He’s appeared in films like Monster’s Ball, Be Kind Rewind, and crowd-pleasers like The Italian Job. He was also absolutely brilliant as Ford Prefect in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
From Folk Singer to Actor: Tom Waits
There are in fact so many musicians who have made the leap to film that it impossible to construct this list and only feature one. Though Tom Waits’ style of music could not be more different from that of Mos Def, like the rapper, Waits is constantly experimenting and redefining his sound. That creative flexibility may lend itself to his innate screen presence. Though he just delivered an outstanding turn in Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, and has become a favorite performer of indie director Jim Jarmusch, the role that represents the crown jewel of his film career is Renfield in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. He perfectly inhabits the role with an unsettling mastery of measured madness.
From Convict to Actor: Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo has made name for himself throughout his career playing primarily bad dudes. This inclination toward characters that reside comfortably outside the boundaries of the law is actually not much of a mystery. For much of his life, Trejo dealt with a drug addiction and was in and out of prison, even earning the title of Pennsylvania state prison boxing champ while serving an eleven-year sentence. He started his film career accidentally, playing background heavies and henchmen before Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado earned him national attention. Sometimes naturalism and life experience can overwhelmingly supersede occupational experience.
From Football Player to Actor: Fred “The Hammer” Williamson
Fred Williamson became an icon of blaxploitatoin in the 1970s, and one of its brightest stars. But before he was putting the hurt on bad guys in films like Boss, Black Caesar, and Bucktown, he earned his hard-hitting nickname playing in the NFL. The Hammer proved to have just as much charisma on the screen as he had aptitude on the gridiron. Hammer became such a mainstay of the subgenre that he was able to demand a strict set of rules for the characters he played. He was to win all of his fights, always get the girl, and he absolutely could not be killed. Quentin Tarantino was such a fan that he wrote him into the script for From Dusk Til Dawn.
From War Hero to Actor: Audie Murphy
On the flipside of the method movie star track is Audie Murphy. Murphy became a cinematic icon for playing war heroes; seemed to have an instinctive knack for it. Turns out, before becoming an actor, Murphy was in fact a highly decorated World War II veteran. The reports of his deeds during the various campaigns read like the greatest of Hollywood screenplays. He apparently leapt onto a burning tank, which could have exploded at any time, in order to use the tank-mounted machine gun to save his battalion from advancing Germans. It’s not often you see movie stars who are legitimate action heroes before they are ever in front of a camera.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Summit Entertainment]
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"Sorry if my snoring bothered you."
Those are not the first words I'd expect out of the mouth of someone who got up on a Friday morning to catch the 10:30 AM screening of a new movie but that is more or less what the fellow who'd been sitting behind me said as I passed him on my way out. I'd heard him snoring over the constant rat-a-tat-tat of bullets and butt-kicking being doled out by Milla Jovovich et al in this latest iteration of the never-ending Resident Evil series (this time in IMAX 3D) but I figured maybe I was hearing things. Nope he was asleep.
I used to play Resident Evil on my ancient PlayStation when it first came out. It scared the crap out of me. I enjoyed the first two movies — hey they included the skinless zombie dogs! — but I lost interest soon after that. How many times can you make the zombie apocalypse exciting? How many different skintight outfits can Jovovich wear while killing grotesque creatures who shoot evil grasping tentacles out of their mouths? Why should we care about all the blood and guts when we know the people we're supposed to be emotionally invested in will never die? We don't.
Try as he might there are only so many ways for writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson to give the Resident Evil series fresh new layers for each new movie. The Umbrella Corporation is the big bad. They were playing with biological weapons and somehow there was an accident that let one of the viruses loose... and boom you've got a zombie apocalypse on your hands. Our heroine is Alice played by Milla Jovovich and there is a rotating cast of characters who help her fight the good fight against the hordes of brain-eaters and whatever is left of the Umbrella Corporation that's now after her. There are some parallels to the video game series but Paul W.S. Anderson (a gamer himself) has taken lots of liberties with the basic plot over the years. While Anderson's flashy style is especially suited to these types of movies there's not enough plot to make it work.
We don't go to video game movies for plot of course but there has to be something to hold onto; otherwise why would we care if our protagonist were in danger? Anderson tries some neat tricks to snap us back to attention like bringing back characters that were killed in previous movies and throwing in a cloning subplot that calls into question some of the characters' true identities but it's still hard to get worked up about anything onscreen. However it ultimately sidesteps any deeper ideas that might take our attention away from all the guns. And there are so many guns and explosions and elegant butt-kickings doled out by Milla and her pals (or former pals in the case of Michelle Rodriguez's character Rain) that they blend together.
It is especially difficult to work up any interest in the story because it's a franchise and no matter how many times the stars or director might say they're not that interested in doing another everyone is just waiting to see how much money this will make before deciding to go forward. There is no question how franchise movies will end; there will be no derring-do on the part of the writer or director to actually kill off a beloved character permanently. At one point it seemed like Anderson was going to pull the old "And then she woke up!" trick which would have been bold both because it's such a hackneyed idea that it would make writing professors' heads explode all over the world but also because it would have required Anderson to play in a different universe and expand his repertoire a bit. Alas like Alice and Anderson himself we just can't seem to escape this rabbit hole.

The tragic and shocking passing of acclaimed director Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Man on Fire) has left Hollywood in a state of disbelief and mourning. The 68-year-old, whose illustrious career included producer on films like Prometheus and The Grey and executive producer on shows such as The Good Wife and Numb3rs, died Sunday when he fatally jumped "without hesitation" off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, Calif. He reportedly left a suicide note at his office. (Latest reports reveal that the filmmaker suffered from inoperable brain cancer prior to his suicide.) Scott, brother of fellow legendary director Ridley Scott, is survived by wife and their two young sons.
While so many have struggled to find the right words to comprehend his passing and pay tribute to his impact on Hollywood, some of Scott's friends, colleagues, and admirers have given statements and others took to their Twitter to express their feelings on the news.
In a statement released to Hollywood.com, Oscar winner Denzel Washington, who worked with Scott on five projects, including his last film Unstoppable said, "Tony Scott was a great director, a genuine friend and it is unfathomable to think that he is now gone. He had a tremendous passion for life and for the art of filmmaking and was able to share this passion with all of us through his cinematic brilliance. My family sends their prayers and deepest condolences to the entire Scott family."
According to E!, Top Gun star Tom Cruise said in a statement, "Tony was my dear friend and I will really miss him. He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable. My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time." Nicole Kidman, who worked with Cruise and Scott on Days of Thunder stated, "I'm so so sad. I loved Tony and he was always so good to me. He will be deeply missed by so many of us that knew him."
You can read a sampling of what Hollywood had to say on Twitter below.
Love ya Tony, always have, always will— Christian Slater (@ChristianSlate4) August 20, 2012
No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) August 20, 2012
RIP Tony. You were the kindest film director I ever worked for. You will be missed. ow.ly/d5Ngo— Val Kilmer (@ValEKilmer) August 20, 2012
There hasnt been 1 day since it came out that some1 doesnt say to me"I love #TrueRomance" Tony Scott was a sweet enthusiastic &amp; lovin man— Michael Rapaport (@MichaelRapaport) August 20, 2012
Tony Scott. Damn. Great knowing you, buddy. Thanks for the inspiration, advice, encouragement, and the decades of great entertainment.— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) August 20, 2012
So sad to hear the news about Tony Scott. His movies made growing up more fun for me. My prayers and condolences to the Scott family.— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) August 20, 2012
I'm deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Tony Scott's death and my thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight.— Josh Charles (@MrJoshCharles) August 20, 2012
Such sad news about Tony Scott. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) August 20, 2012
Deeply saddened to hear the news about Tony Scott. A fine film-maker and the most charming, modest man.— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) August 20, 2012
So very, very sorry to hear of the death of Tony Scott. A terrible, terrible loss of a truly talented, brilliant man.— Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) August 20, 2012
Awww Tony.Wish you had felt there was a way to keep going.What a sad waste.My thoughts go out to his wife and beautiful children.— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) August 20, 2012
RIP Tony Scott. Damn. He was a huge inspiration. Very sad.— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 20, 2012
Saddened by the death of Tony Scott. A wonderful film maker and a funny, sweet guy. My condolences to his family.— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) August 20, 2012
The death of Tony Scott is shocking and saddening. He was an inspired craftsman.— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) August 20, 2012
So sorry to hear of Tony Scott's passing. Such a sad loss. Condolences to his family, friends and fans of his films.— yvette nicole brown (@yvettenbrown) August 20, 2012
Collaborating with the great Tony Scott was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My thoughts are with his family tonight.— Richard Kelly (@JRichardKelly) August 20, 2012
Devastated by the death of Tony Scott. Just watched True Romance 1 of my top 5 fav movies ever a few nights ago. #RIP— Dane Cook (@danecook) August 20, 2012
I've been extremely fortunate in my career. A career I wouldn't have without Tony Scott's persistence, love and relentless support.— Joe Carnahan (@carnojoe) August 20, 2012
Taking a moment to reflect on Tony Scott's life &amp; work! My sympathies to his family. Feeling the loss!— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 20, 2012
My heart stopped when I heard of the tragic death of 1 of r most inspiring directors, Tony Scott. Rest In Peace Tony. U will be missd so...— Adam Shankman (@adammshankman) August 20, 2012
Tony Scott was incredibly encouraging to me at an early stage of my career. He was generous, gregarious &amp; immensely talented. Sadness.— mark romanek (@markromanek) August 20, 2012
True Romance. The scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper in a Detroit railyard is a classic. RIP Tony Scott.— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) August 20, 2012
Tony Scott director of my favorite movie man on fire." I wish you had moretime "— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) August 20, 2012
So sad to hear about Tony Scott. A master of grand action, nail biting pace and atmosphere. A real loss to film making.— Simon Pegg (@simonpegg) August 20, 2012
It's bittersweet to see the overwhelming praise for Tony Scott's work today. It's very much deserved, but sad he didn't hear it for himself.— edgarwright (@edgarwright) August 20, 2012
#RIPTONYSCOTTBig fan. Thank you for all of your movies. Sad day.— Peter Facinelli (@peterfacinelli) August 20, 2012
Tony Scott, rest in peace. How horribly sad.— Kat Dennings (@OfficialKat) August 20, 2012
RIP Tony Scott. Never knew him but always heard nothing but great things about him and I loved his films. Terrible loss for cinema.— Eli Roth (@eliroth) August 20, 2012
Rest in Peace...Tony Scott— Dylan McDermott (@DylanMcDermott) August 20, 2012
Just so sad about Tony Scott. R.I.P.— David Boreanaz (@David_Boreanaz) August 20, 2012
Two of my favorite movies of all time, "true romance" and "the hunger" #RIPTONYSCOTT— Evan Rachel Wood (@evanrachelwood) August 20, 2012
Shocked.Tony Scott is a legend.Tragic and sad day.Thoughts and prayers for his family.— Marc Webb (@MarcW) August 20, 2012
RIP mr. Tony Scott. :(— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) August 20, 2012
"I make a movie because it's something that inspires me" ~ Tony Scott 6/21/44 - 8/19/12 Your movies inspired me..— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 20, 2012
met tony scott once. thought we would meet again. saddened by news of his passing. grateful for the work he leaves behind. peace to you sir.— Zachary Quinto (@ZacharyQuinto) August 20, 2012
[Photo credit: WENN.com] More: Top Gun Director Tony Scott Commits Suicide Tony Scott Had Inoperable Brain Cancer – REPORT Remembering Tony Scott and His Cinedmatic Legacy — VIDEOS

The trailers for Hope Springs might lead you to believe it's a romantic comedy about a couple trying to jumpstart their sexless marriage but it causes more empathetic cringing than chuckles. Audiences will be drawn to Hope Springs by its stars Meryl Streep Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell and Streep's track record of pleasing summer movies like Julie &amp; Julia and Mamma Mia! that offer a respite from the blockbusters flooding theaters. Despite what its marketing might have you believe Hope Springs isn't a rom-com. The film is a disarming mixture of deeply intimate confessions by a married couple in the sanctuary of a therapist's office awkwardly honest attempts by that couple to physically reconnect and incredibly sappy scenes underscored by intrusive music. Boldly addressing female desire especially in older women it's hard not to give the movie extra credit for what writer Vanessa Taylor's script is trying to convey and its rarity in mainstream film. The ebb and flow of intimacy and desire in a long-term relationship is what drives Hope Springs and while there are plenty contrived moments and unresolved issues it is frankly surprising and surprisingly frank. It's a summer release from a major studio with high caliber stars aimed squarely at the generally underserved 50+ audience addressing the even more taboo topic of that audience's sex life.
Streep plays Kay a suburban wife who's deeply unsatisfied emotionally and sexually by her marriage to Arnold. Arnold who is played by Tommy Lee Jones as his craggiest sleeps in a separate bedroom now that their kids have left the nest; he's like a stone cold robot emotionally and physically and Kay tiptoes around trying to make him happy even as he ignores her every gesture. One of the most striking scenes in the movie is at the very beginning when Kay primps and fusses over her modest sleepwear in the hopes of seducing her husband. Streep makes it obvious that this isn't an easy thing for Kay; it takes all her guts to try and wordlessly suggest sex to her husband and when she's shot down it hurts to watch. This isn't a one time disconnect between their libidos; this is an ongoing problem that leaves Kay feeling insecure and undesirable.
After a foray into the self-help section of her bookstore Kay finds a therapist who holds week-long intensive couples' therapy sessions in Good Hope Springs ME and in a seemingly unprecedented moment of decisiveness she books a trip for the couple. Arnold of course is having none of it but he eventually comes along for the ride. That doesn't mean he's up for answering any of Dr. Feld's questions though. To be fair Dr. Feld (Carell) is asking the couple deeply intimate questions so if Arnold is comfortable foisting his amorous wife off with the excuse he had pork for lunch it's not so far-fetched to believe he'd be angry when Feld asks him about his fantasy life or masturbation habits.
Although Arnold gets a pass on some of his issues Kay is forthright about why and how she's dissatisfied. When Dr. Feld asks her if she masturbates she says she doesn't because it makes her too sad. Kay offers similar revelations; she's willing to bare it all to revive her marriage while Arnold thinks the fact that they're married at all means they must be happy. Carell's Dr. Feld is soothing and kind (even a bit bland) but it's always a pleasure to see him play it straight.
It's subversive for a mega-watt star to play a character that talks about how sexually unsatisfied she is and how unsexy she feels with the man she loves most in the world. The added taboo of Kay and Arnold's age adds that much more to the conversation. Kay and Arnold's attempts at intimacy are emotionally raw and hard to watch. Even when things get funny they're mostly awkward funny not ha-ha funny.
The rest of the movie is a little uneven wrapped up tightly and happily by the end. Their time spent soul-searching alone is a little cheesy especially when Kay ends up in a local bar where she gets a little dizzy on white wine while dishing about her problems to the bartender (Elisabeth Shue). Somewhere along the line what probably started out as a character study ended up as a wobbly drama that pushes some boundaries but eventually lets everyone off the emotional hook in favor of a smoothed-over happy ending. Still its disarming moments and performances almost balance it out. Although its target audience might be dismayed to find it's not as light-hearted as it would seem Hope Springs offers up the opportunity for discussion about sexuality and aging at a time when books and films like 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike are perking up similar conversations. In the end that's a good thing.